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Sunday, April 1, 2012

Trying to be frugal…

There are some things I’ll cut corners on and try to make the most of what we’ve got…the princesses’ clothes, for example. I haven’t bought clothes for my princess Cailyn for I don’t know how long because I’ve packed all of her sister’s clothes away and pull them out of the boxes when she needs them! She thinks she’s getting new clothes, which is an added bonus for both of us! My princess Makenna, on the other hand, wears her clothes until the buttons don’t button or her pants miraculously turn into capris! With the warmer weather upon us, she was getting to that “unwearable” phase of her clothes and I had no choice but to buy her a few things for Spring and Summer and you would have thought it was Christmas morning all over again!

Buying and keeping healthy, wholesome food on hand is one area where I find myself struggling to be frugal. But times are tight right now, so this week I tested myself to make the most out of what I already have on hand (I did stock up on some fresh fruit and a few veggies that I was completely out of without going over my budget!). Here’s a look at our “Frugal Menu” for this past week:

Monday – I had just enough eggs, broccoli, red pepper , and a potato that needed to be used up to make a Broccoli and Red Pepper Egg Frittata (Simply line a 9-inch pie dish with sliced potatoes, sprinkle chopped broccoli and red peppers over potatoes, beat 4 organic eggs with 1 cup non-dairy milk (or regular) and pour over all the veggies. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes.) with a Potato Crust. I paired that with a fruit salad to finish out our meal.

(This is a mini version!)

Tuesday – It was game night, which didn’t leave me much time to cook so I pulled some leftover Potato Leek Soup out of the freezer. I paired that with some fresh green beans and homemade garlic biscuits.

Wednesday – Another late night of softball practice, so I started prepping dinner early and was nice and warm when the kiddos got home! Made a Hearty Lentil-Quinoa Soup that was out of this world good (I’ll get the recipe up on my blog ASAP!)! Lentils and quinoa are two things I typically have on hand in the pantry, so why I hadn’t thought of bringing them together before now beats me.

Thursday – Guess what? Yep! Game night! These mid-week games are killing me. But I got my “A-game” goin’ on in the kitchen and tried my hand at some Crockpot Chili…veggie style! Had some dry kidney and black beans just hanging out in the pantry, so I started soaking them Wednesday night and then into the crockpot they went Thursday morning. Served it alongside some warm, homemade cornbread.

Friday – Turkey, Spinach and Mozzarella Cheese Panini's made for an easy Friday night dinner. The princesses and hubs love the Trader Joe’s Artisan Baked Panini bread and I love it because there’s enough to freeze for two meals!! I don’t have a Panini Press, so I made these sandwiches on our George Foreman grill. Served these up alongside fresh organic pears and used up the rest of my veggies to make a green salad.

Saturday – Dinner with friends! Loved that I had a night off from cooking (couldn’t get much more frugal than that!) and someone else loved that dessert involved some chocolate fondue!

I felt like I accomplished a great feat this week as I created my meals around the items that I already had on hand in my fridge and pantry. It actually wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be and the fam was pleased with all the meals, which was an added bonus! I pretty much cleaned out my fridge and most of the pantry, so this week’s shopping trip will be a bit on the LARGE size!

What do you do to save $$$ on meals at your house? I’d love to hear your ideas!

2 comments:

Not really a $$$ saving tip, but I have been trying to be more cautious of portions. Lately I have been putting away leftover freezer meals when I dish out the food. That way we do not go overboard, I am able to stretch out the meals and I have healthy go to choices on busy nights.

That's a fabulous idea! I love having something healthy to pull out on our softball nights. And I like that I'm not wasting any food because more often than not the leftovers in the fridge don't get eaten! I'll get on that recipe for you!